


A Day Like No Other

by necromancy_enthusiast



Series: Necromancy's Custom MU Kaede [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Belonging, Birthday, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, In-Laws, Sibling Bonding, Siblings, Surprise Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 06:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10431486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/necromancy_enthusiast/pseuds/necromancy_enthusiast
Summary: Benny insist that his birthday isn't that big of a deal, but Elise and Kaede are determined to give him a special day and make him feel welcome in their family. When they realize Elise and Benny's birthdays are only five days apart, they begin plotting a surprise party for Benny.





	

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to use the interactive fics extension in the google chrome store to change my avatar's name to your's
> 
> Beta read by the lovely raccoon-macaroon here on ao3 and tumblr

“Your birthday is in a few weeks, right Benny?” Kaede asked as the two exited the training grounds together, carrying their equipment in their arms.

“Oh, it is, isn’t it…” Benny said, moving his training spear to his non-dominant hand so he could wipe the sweat from his brow.

“March 24th, right?” Kaede said, heading towards the armory.

“Yeah.” Benny said matter-of-factly, following his fiancée.

“We should do something fun, Benny. Maybe get everyone together so they can get to know you better, they will be your in-laws soon, after all.”

“You…Have a lot of siblings, Kaede.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Kaede said.

“I never had any brothers or sisters…My parents had a hard time just feeding me.”

“Right…I remember you saying something like that before.” Kaede said, entering the armory tent and replacing her training equipment before sitting on a large crate nearby. “I can’t imagine not having siblings…When we get married, it’s like you’ll have…Gosh, 8 new siblings? Well, even though we’re not blood related and we weren’t raised together, Azura is like a sister to me, so more like 9 siblings, I guess. I can see why you’d be intimidated. But I promise they’re all great, and they love you!”

“…Even Prince Ryoma and Prince Xander?” Benny questioned as he sat down next to Kaede.

“Yes, they love you, too. They…Have an odd way of expressing it sometimes, but they do like you.”

“…It didn’t feel that way when they both took me aside to ask me all those questions…Individually.”

“I know Benny, I’m sorry. They’re both really weird about expressing it, but they like you. They apologized to you, right?”

“Yes.” He said.

“Good. They did both say that they thought you were a good man to me.”

“Really?” Benny asked, a note of surprise in his tone.

“Really. Oh, I almost forgot! Elise’s birthday is just a few days before yours, isn’t that crazy?” Kaede said.

“Oh…That is unusual.”

“She’s really taken a liking to you, Benny, and she loves happy little coincidences like that. I’m going to tell her tonight.”

“You don’t have to do that, Kaede…” Benny said.

“Huh?...Why?”

“I just…I’ve never really made a big deal out of my birthday.”

“What?! Why not?” Kaede said.

“It’s just another day to me, the day I happened to be born oh so many years ago…Besides, I never really had many friends as a kid, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to trouble my parents…”

“But Benny! Birthdays are special, there’s a reason we celebrate them!” Kaede said. “It’s the day everyone focuses on how happy they are that you’re in their life, and I know a lot of people are happy you’re around.” Kaede said.

“Really, it’s alright. I don’t want anyone going to all that trouble for me.” Benny said, standing from his seat. “I have some things to take care of, but I’ll see you at dinner, ok?” he said, bending down to kiss Kaede on the cheek.

“…Ok.” Kaede said dejectedly before Benny exited the tent.

* * *

 

“Did you want to talk about something, Kaede?” Elise asked as Kaede let Elise into her room that night.

“Yes Elise, it’s about Benny.” Kaede said, shutting the door behind her and following Elise over to sit at the small table on the opposite side of her room.

“What is it? Is Xander scaring him again?”

“No, I made it very clear to Xander that I didn’t want him interrogating poor Benny anymore…” Kaede said as she picked up a teapot she had Jakob prepare beforehand, pouring some tea into the cup set in front of Elise before pouring some for herself as well.

“Is it Leo?” Elise said, picking the cup up and smelling the tea.

“No, Leo’s been polite. A bit distant, but he’s behaved himself around Benny.” Kaede said, taking her own teacup in hand before cautiously tasting the tea to make sure it wasn’t too hot to drink.

“Hmmm…Takumi? I can try, but Sakura knows him better, so maybe I could get her to come with me when I talk to him.” Elise offered.

“No…It actually has to do with you too, Elise.”

“Me? Did I hurt his feelings? I promise I didn’t mean to!” Elise said.

“Oh, no no no! It’s not that at all, Elise.” Kaede said. “I’m pretty sure Benny feels the most at ease around you out of everyone, actually.”

“Phew, that’s good! He’s so cute and sweet, I wouldn’t want to scare my future big brother away before he even officially became my brother.” Elise said, obviously relieved.

“Actually, I wanted your help. He doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, so him suddenly getting so many new siblings is a bit of a…Culture shock for him.” Kaede said.

“Oh, I can imagine! That’s why I keep telling Xander and Leo to be extra nice to him, he’ll be part of the family soon.” Elise replied. “Why do you want my help though, Kaede?”

“You know your birthday is in a few weeks.”

“Yep, how could I forget! I’m really excited!” Elise said.

“Well, Benny’s birthday is five days after yours.” Kaede said. Elise brought her hands up to her face, her expression changing into delighted surprise.

“Really Kaede? That’s so cool! I can’t believe our birthdays are only a few days apart…That’s amazing!”

“I said the same thing to him, but…” Kaede said, looking down at her teacup.

“Buuuuuut?...” Elise asked.

“Benny said he didn’t want to do anything special for his birthday…” Kaede said.

“What? Why not?” Elise said.

“He said he doesn’t want anyone to go through the trouble for him.”

“Now that’s just silly! It’s no trouble if it’s for someone you care about!” Elise said, putting her teacup down and placing her hands on her hips before pouting.

“I tried to tell him that…” Kaede said, placing her cup back on the saucer and sighing dejectedly.

“So, you wanted my help in making Benny’s birthday super special, right?” Elise said, smiling brightly.

“Well…I’m not really sure what to do yet, I was going to ask you for advice.” Kaede said.

“Kaede, we need to let Benny know that he’s a part of our family now! And family does things for each other like this!”

“Like…What?”

“Liiiiike…” Elise trailed off for a moment before she came up with something. “Like throwing him a big surprise party!” Elise said.

“Gosh Elise, I don’t know…That doesn’t really seem like Benny’s kind of thing.” Kaede said reluctantly, not wanting to put a damper on her little sister’s enthusiasm.

“Awww come on Kaede, it’ll be fun! Just like that time we threw Xander a surprise party!” Elise said.

“Xander was…pretty surprised.” Kaede said, not knowing how else to word it.

“You remember the look on his face when Laslow jumped out of the cake? He was so surprised!” Elise said, giggling happily.

“You know Elise, in hindsight I don’t think that was such a good idea…”

“Awww, why not?” Elise asked.

“Oh…Some people just aren’t big fans of surprises…” Kaede said.

“Like Kaze? I tried to talk him into jumping out of the cake, but he just couldn’t be reasoned with…But Laslow was all for it!”

“Yeah…But Xander was a bit…Erm…”

“Aw come on, Kaede! Xander said he loved the party!”

“…Honestly, I wonder how much of what he said was true, and how much he just said to not hurt our feelings…”

“Hmmm…I guess maybe we went a little overboard with the whole jumping out of the cake thing…What did he say again?”

“Camilla said he told her ’It took ten years off of my life’.” Kaede said.

“Right, that’s it. But he DID like the party!” Elise said.

“Elise, you know how Benny gets really anxious sometimes, so I don’t know how well he’d react to a big surprise like that.”

“Well, it’s not like you NEED someone to jump out of a cake for it to be a good party.” Elise insisted. “…It does help, though.”

“Elise, if we’re going to do this, we have to be careful. I don’t want Benny to feel on the spot or anything, I just want to let him know how special he is to us, and that he’s welcome in our family.”

“I understand completely, Kaede. I promise I’ll be super extra careful.”

“And make sure you tell me everything you’re planning BEFORE it happens this time, alright?” Kaede asked. “It should be a surprise for Benny, not me.”

“I promise!” Elise said, taking Kaede’s hands into her own and nearly bouncing in her seat excitedly. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun, Kaede! I can’t wait!”

* * *

 

Kaede didn’t mention Benny’s birthday to him after that. Benny was relieved that she had dropped the subject, he really didn’t want to argue with her about it.

For the most part, things went back to normal. Benny did have a few interesting encounters with other members of the army, however.

“Hey Benny!” Charlotte said the next night at dinner. “Sit your ass down and drink with me!”

Benny was happy to see that Charlotte felt more comfortable to be herself out in a public space, he liked the real Charlotte better, anyway.

“Hello, Charlotte.” He said, sitting next to her.

“Tch, the stew sucks, Benny…If I were you, I’d steer clear...” Charlotte said.

“Has it made anyone sick?” Benny asked.

“Well…No...” Charlotte said.

“Then I’ll eat it.”

“Ah come on, you don’t have to eat everything they put in front of you…You’re a real special guy, y’know that, Benny?” she asked, giggling quietly.

“Charlotte…You’re drunk.” Benny stated more than asked.

“Weeeeelllll maybe I have depleted the kitchen’s stock of ale by quite a bit…” she said. “Hey, I’ve been working really hard lately. I deserve a little somethin’ somethin’…” she said. “Just like you, Benny.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well…Hey, if it isn’t our little princess friend Kaede!” Charlotte said, and surely enough, Benny turned in the direction Charlotte was looking to see Kaede walking towards the two, a tray of food in hand. She smiled upon seeing her friend and fiancée and sat down between them.

“Hello, Charlotte. Hi Benny.” She said, smiling at each of them in turn.

“Saaay, Kaede, how’s about you and me get some more nighttime training in…A girl’s night, right?” Charlotte suggested, slinging an arm over Kaede’s shoulders and bringing her closer. Benny had heard what generally went into a ‘girl’s night’, but he didn’t realize that beating each other black and blue with training weapons counted.

“I wouldn’t want to take advantage of your inebriated state, Charlotte.” Kaede said.

“Awww, the chivalrous little princess doesn’t think I can handle it…How sickeningly sweet.” Charlotte said. “Say, that thing you were talking about earlier, with Elise, I’d loooove to help you out, especially since I’ve known him for-“

“Thank you Charlotte!” Kaede said quickly, almost as if to cut her off before she said something private. “Hey uh, I think I’ll take you up on that spar after all. So we can talk.”

“ooooh, you’re on girly!” Charlotte said, downing the rest of her stew with a grimace before standing.

“Well…I mean after I finished eating…” Kaede said, following Charlotte’s example and nearly drinking the stew from the bowl. She grabbed her loaf of bread and kissed Benny on the forehead.

“Talk to you later, dear.” Kaede said as she followed Charlotte out of the mess hall to do…Whatever it was they were planning.

* * *

 

“Hey Benny boy!” Keaton said to Benny some days later.

“Hello, Keaton.” Benny greeted, smiling good-naturedly. Keaton shrinked back a bit.

“Why are you making that scary face? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Keaton asked.

“Oh…Right.” Benny said, remembering that for some reason Keaton found his natural countenance more approachable. He scowled at Keaton.

“That’s the Benny I know and love!” Keaton said, smiling wolfishly. “Say, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take a look at my treasures again?” he asked.

“I…I’m honored Keaton, but…” Benny said, trying to think of an excuse to say no.

“Awww, you’re too modest Benny! You think you just couldn’t handle all the amazing treasures I have in store! It would overwhelm you!” Keaton said.

“Right on the nose.” Benny said dryly.

“But I know you have an eye for this sort of thing, so you can handle it!” Keaton said, grabbing Benny’s arm and dragging him with a strength that most would be surprised by. Benny sighed and decided it would be best to just not resist and get it over with.

As Keaton opened the flap to his tent (apparently he only slept there on nights when it was cold or raining, he mostly just bothered setting it up to keep his treasures safe) and motioned for Benny to enter. Reluctantly, Benny stepped into the tent, looking around at the horrors that awaited him.

Keaton’s collection must have grown since Benny was last ‘treated’ to a tour, because Benny could have sworn that the tent was mustier and even more cluttered than before.

“Here we are! Keaton said, stepping in behind Benny. “Amazing, isn’t it? Y’know, I’ve been thinking about requesting a bigger tent so I can properly house all these beauties. And then I can have even more people in here to show them to!” Keaton said, grin only widening.

“Is that so?” Benny asked.

“Yep! Anyway, I didn’t just bring you in here for a tour. You’re already pretty familiar with my collection anyway.”

“…That I am.” Benny said.

“So! From one treasure expert to another, which of these is your favorite?” Keaton asked.

“My…Favorite?” Benny said.

“Yeah, your favorite! Which one do you like the best?” Keaton elaborated. Benny looked around at Keaton’s collection (which frankly, Benny thought would be more properly described as a ‘horde’), trying his best not to grimace at the variety of ‘treasures’ Keaton kept. Bones of all kinds of animals (and almost certainly humans), bugs (hopefully dead), dried out animals (probably dead), unusual stones, collections from Keaton’s previous kills, odd leaves, and pieces of gnarled wood were only a few of the kinds of things Benny saw in the vast array. He looked over and over for something, _anything_ he might have actually liked, or at least found acceptable, wanting desperately to avoid hurting Keaton’s feelings.

Just as he was about to give up and pick up a pebble, something caught his eye. A huge feather, pure white save for a golden accent towards the end, stood among the other ephemera Keaton had collected. Almost reverently, Benny picked it up, not wanting to damage the sturdy yet delicate feather.

“Oooooh, you’ve got a really beauty there.” Keaton said.

“What kind of bird does this come from?” Benny asked.

“That, my friend, is a flight feather of a Kinshi.” Keaton explained. “They’re preeeettty hard to come by in Nohr, seeing how Kinshis are native to Hoshido and all. The Hoshidans in the army keep some in the stables with the pegasuses…Pegasi? Whatever. Anyway, you have a good eye, Benny.”

“Keaton…Where did you get this?” Benny asked, suspicion lacing his voice.

“What? You think I tore it off of one of the Hoshidans’ Kinshis?” Keaton asked. “I can’t believe you would accuse me of such a thing!” Keaton said, pouting as he crossed his arms.

“Did you, Keaton?” Benny asked.

“Weeeeeeelllll…” Keaton drawled, his resolve waivering.

“Keaton?...”

“…Listen, it was falling out anyway. It would have just driven her crazy if I hadn’t come along and-“

“Keaton…” Benny said, sighing as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

“I’m serious! She was already pecking at it, I just came along and tugged a little! Didn’t hurt her or nothing.” Keaton replied.

“You promise?” Benny asked.

“Yes, promise!”

“Alright, then I trust you.”

“Good! Trust me, as a wolfskin, I know what a pain it is to have humans going after you for your fur…Or I guess feathers, in her case.” Keaton said. Benny hadn’t even considered that, he still found himself forgetting that Keaton wasn’t human. “So, you really like that Kinshi feather, huh?” Keaton asked.

“Yes, it’s beautiful.” Benny handed the large flight feather back to Keaton, who held it reverently.

“It sure is…” he said, staring at it fondly.

“Why did you ask?”

“…Huh?” Keaton said, almost as if he had been broken from a trance.

“Why did you want to suddenly know which of your treasures I liked best?” Benny elaborated.

“Uuuuhhhhhh…” Keaton said, his eyes darting around nervously. “No reason!” he said, hiding the feather behind his back as though it would help Benny forget about it.

“None whatsoever?”

“Nope! None. I just wanted to show off my treasures again and uh…Get your opinion on it! Can’t a guy just do that sort of thing for a friend?” Keaton asked somewhat defensively.

“I suppose so…It just seemed sudden.”

“Well, it just occurred to me! It’s not like I was planning anything, or like I was gonna give-“

“Ooooh Kea-ton~!” called someone in a sing-song voice from outside of the tent. Keaton immediately seized the distraction and went to open the flap of the tent, outside of which stood Elise.

“Hi Keaton, hey Benny! Keaton, I thought you might be up to play! I brought this nice juicy steak for you!” Elise said, taking a steak wrapped in butcher paper out of her bag. Keaton’s mouth water, his pupils dilated, and he leaned toward Elise.

“Do you wanna play with us too, Benny?” Elise asked after the two stepped outside to let Keaton ravage his meal alone.

“No…I have some chores to do.” Benny said.

“aaaawww…Next time, alright? I think we’re going to play hide-and-seek!” Elise said.

“Hide-and-seek?” Keaton asked, his head sticking out from the entrance of the tent, his face covered in the juices of the beef he had wolfed down. “Pfftt, neither of you would stand a chance.”

“Oh yeah?” Elise asked playfully. “Then you hide, and I’ll start counting!” Elise covered her eyes and began counting aloud. “Oh, and by the way, you only have until 20!” she said. Panic struck Keaton as he ran off, looking for a decent hiding spot. Benny sighed and left the two to their devices.

* * *

 

The days passed, and Benny almost forgot about how weird all of his friends were acting. He did, however, remember to wish Elise a happy birthday.

“Happy birthday, Lady Elise.” He said as he saw her near the medical tent on his way to the training grounds.

“Oh, Benny!” Elise said as she turned to look at him, smiling brightly. “Thank you!”

“Do you have any special plans for today?” he asked politely.

“Hmmm…Not really.” Elise said.

“Why not?” Benny asked.

“Oh…We’ve been so busy with trying to end this war, there just isn’t time for a big party…Or anything like that. Nothing special is going on…Nothing at all…” Elise said.

“Um…I see.” Benny said.

“Nothing like, say…Oh, hey Kaede!” Elise said, and Benny turned to see Kaede running towards Elise from the opposite direction he had come.

“Heeey Elise! Hey Benny! What were you talking about just now?” she said.

“Oh, nothing…Special.” Elise said with an almost conspiratorial tone. Benny looked between the two, not really sure what to make of all of it.

 “That’s swell but uh, Elise, we’ve got to go…Y’know.” Kaede said.

“Oh, right!” Elise said, moving to stand next to her sister. “Well, I guess we’ll see you later Benny…Which is totally expected…Not surprising at aaaalll.” She said before the two young women walked away. Benny looked after them for awhile before sighing and returning to the task at hand. It was probably best that he didn’t get involved in their shenanigans.

* * *

A couple of nights later, the camp was especially quiet. Some soldiers milled about as always, others attending their duties, but it seemed like a lot of people had decided to turn in early. Benny made his way over the mess hall, wondering if there was anything he could help with.

The mess hall was shrouded in darkness, the sliver of the moon that shown tonight barely lit up the night, and he heard no signs of stirring. Was it later than he thought? Had he been so absorbed in his training that he completely missed dinner? He looked around for a lamp or something else he could use to light the area, but soon enough several torches were lit at the back of the mess hall.

Many of his fellows had gathered in the mess hall, some hiding, others in plain sight.

“Happy birthday!” some said, some yelled, some barely whispered. Benny looked around in shock, not knowing what to think. All of the friends he had made in the army were present, and almost all of his future siblings-in-law as well.

 Several decorated banquet tables had been set with enough silverware to serve several dozen people, and at the table at the far back stood Kaede, smiling brightly at Benny as she held a wrapped gift in her hands.

“Happy birthday, Benny!” she said, running towards him and all but jumping into his arms.

“Happy birthday, Benny!!!” Elise said, moving out from behind her hiding spot to hug him, wearing a party hat.

“Lady Elise…Kaede…” Benny said, utterly surprised by all the pomp. “It’s not…My birthday…”

“I was so happy when I found out our birthdays were only a few days apart! We’re almost like twins!”

“Um…If you say so.” Benny said reluctantly.

“Since you’re so nice, and you’re going to be a part of our family soon, I figured it only made sense if we shared our birthday parties by having it in between our actual birthdays!” Elise said, picking up a party hat identical to her own. “Could you lean down for a minute, Benny?” she asked. Benny got down on one knee, and Elise place the party hat on his head. “There! Now we match even more!”

“When I mentioned that your birthday is only a few days after Elise’s, we started talking about what we should do.” Kaede said.

“It’s only fair that we have our birthday’s together! I don’t mind sharing if you don’t, Benny.”

“No…Of course not, Lady Elise. I’m honored.” Benny said.

“You don’t have to be so formal, Benny! You’re basically my big brother now, so it’s almost like you’re a prince, too! Prince Benny has a nice ring to it, I think.” Elise smiled, taking Benny’s and Kaede’s hands in her own and leading them over to the head of the banquet table. “Here, we can both sit at the head of the table since it’s our birthday.” She sat down, flourishing her skirt in the appropriate fashion. Benny followed suit and sat down on the stool next to her, while Kaede sat down at Benny’s side.

“You look so cute in your hat, Benny.” Kaede said, smiling earnestly.

“Kaede told me you’ve never really had a big birthday party before…” Elise continued. “That’s so sad! Everyone deserves at least one birthday party in their life! Especially a really nice guy like you!”

“I…Don’t know what to say.” Benny said.

“You don’t have to say anything! We’re family now, and that’s what family does!” Elise said as the people assigned to mess kitchen duty started to pass around dinner. “You didn’t have any siblings growing up, right Benny?” she asked after plates were set in front of them.

“No.”

“Well, when you marry Kaede, you’ll have a whole ton of siblings! Me, and Xander, and Camilla and Leo…And I guess Sakura and Azura and the others from Hoshido, too!”

“It’s going to be a big change for Benny.” Kaede said. “I know how you’re easily intimidated with people you don’t know well, so Elise and I agreed that we should all get together and try to do something to make you feel more welcome…Especially after Ryoma and Xander both practically interrogated you…I promise, they feel bad about that. Well, I made them understand why they should feel bad.” Kaede said.

“You won’t ever have to feel alone again, Benny! Not when you’ll have so many family members looking after you!” Elise said, taking Benny’s hand in her own and smiling at him.

“I…” Benny said.

“Benny?...” Kaede asked. Benny tilted his head down to look at the ground, his expression growing morose. “Are you alright?”

Suddenly, Benny leaned towards Kaede, inhaling sharply and wiping tears that were still welling in his eyes with his forearm.

“Oh, Benny…” Kaede said, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could.

“I…I just…I’m so happy. I never thought…I could be this happy.” He said. Elise hugged Benny from the other side.

“Awww, you big softie.”

“Lady Elise, Kaede…Thank you. Thank you so much…”

“It was nothing! And what did I say about you calling me ‘Lady’?” Elise said playfully.

“Right…Sorry.” He replied.

“It’s ok Benny. You’ll have plenty of time to work on it.” Elise said. “Oh boy, I can’t wait until you see the cake!”

“Elise?...” Kaede said suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, I PROMISE no one will jump out of it…” Elise said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! Make sure to fire up your copies of Fates and give Benny nice birthday presents!


End file.
